Automatic pool cleaning systems are intended to ease the task of maintaining swimming pool surfaces free of settled debris. Automatic pool cleaning systems use water pressure to clean the pools. Some known systems utilize a plurality of “cleaning heads” installed along the bottom surfaces of swimming pools, wherein the cleaning heads have a large number of outlet openings or orifices so that successive jets of water are ejected along the bottom surfaces of the pool to move debris into the main drain or into suspension where it is removed by the pool skimmer. The position and quantity of cleaning heads depends on the size and shape of the pool.
Pop-up cleaning head assemblies typically include a pop up jet producing nozzle and a stationary section that sealably engages with a pool floor fitting installed in the bottom surface of the swimming pool and is sealably coupled to an intermittent high pressure water supply. As the water pressure is intermittently pressurized, the pop-up jet producing element pops up and down, causing the rotary pop-up element to rotate intermittently each time the water pressure is turned on and off. Each time the water pressure is turned on, a jet of water is ejected from the outlet opening, which is exposed above the edge of the fitting as the pop-up jet producing element pops up. Each time the water pressure is turned off, the jet producing element is retracted into the fitting.
Unfortunately, the pool cleaning head assemblies may sometimes need removal from the floor fitting for repair or replacement due to malfunction, obsolescence, or to change the color to match the pool interior as described in prior application Ser. No. 11/679,740. Prior art removal tools have included those that swivel by the use of bolts, which over time become loose and thus require consistent maintenance. They also have been made from materials that do not withstand pool chemicals and/or ultraviolet light. In addition, their manufacture and assembly requires extensive machining including drilling thus increasing their cost and complexity.
Accordingly, there has been a need for a novel removal tool for installing and removing a pop-up cleaning head assembly which is of simplified construction, relatively inexpensive to manufacture and maintain, and adaptable to engage with a variety of head assemblies for removal from and installation into a pool floor fitting. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides other related advantages.